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Whimsy Unwrapped

Lit, gilded and gleaming with memories, an island home captures the imagination

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BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER / THE SEATTLE TIMES Gilded fruit and swags of lighted greens unify Mary Lynn's collection of nutcrackers. Each little wooden doll exudes its own personality, from the baker in top hat to a wily-looking nutcracker outfitted in shiny black. BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER / THE SEATTLE TIMES The deep burgundy of the velvet table runner shows off the glimmering collection of silver, pewter and crystal in the dining room, set for a festive meal. Holiday greens, white tapers and red Christmas balls are repeated throughout the decorated rooms. BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER / THE SEATTLE TIMES A traditional Christmas palette, with plenty of red velvet bows, red poinsettias and shiny red ornaments, plays off the pile of logs and rough stone of the living-room fireplace. Sparkly golden trees, their branches tipped in silver, echo the shape of the grand Christmas tree. BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER / THE SEATTLE TIMES Decorations at the Mounger house complement rather than displace year-round art and furnishings. The orange-shirt paintings, bookshelves and piano serve as props and focal points for poinsettias, Santas and snowflakes. BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER / THE SEATTLE TIMES A tiny group of choirboys carol eternally in the snow-dusted Dickensian village displayed on a kitchen counter.

EVERY YEAR when Mary Lynn Mounger unpacks her collection of Santas, snowflakes, angels and nutcrackers, she comes up with fresh and fun ways to arrange them. In this Bainbridge Island home, holiday décor competes for attention with the glorious views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.

All the sparkle and shine of silver, crystal and reflective glass ornaments hold their own against watery and snowy distractions outside. Perhaps the holiday touches are so effective because of the yin-yang contrast between them and the home's more permanent finishes and furnishings. The matte surface of stone fireplaces, dark wood floors and warmly patterned Oriental rugs set off the flash and whimsy of seasonal embellishments. Brightly dressed holiday creatures dangle their legs over the books on living-room bookshelves. Even the glossy black piano is put to good effect, its reflective surface mirroring silver snowflakes and robed Santas and Saint Nicholas figures with long, flossy white beards. White candles, greens, red poinsettias and silver accents, repeated throughout the house, tie together the variety of collections.

The home's front door is flanked by a pair of grinning nutcrackers, as flawlessly outfitted and stiff of stance as the guards at Buckingham Palace. Strings of draped icicle lights, tree trunks wrapped in lights, and sparkling garlands set the holiday tone before a visitor even steps inside.

In the family room, Mounger's pig collection swarms all over the big stone fireplace. Even the garden pigs are brought indoors for December. Husband Glenn "gave me a piggy bank for Christmas one year, and then suddenly I've got a pig collection," Mounger explains.

Pigs and angels are the least of what this family collects. The serious collecting happens out in the garage, where Glenn stables an impressive assortment of vintage vehicles. Glenn recently retired as longtime co-chair of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, one of the world's most important classic car shows. He now serves as chief judge at the Kirkland Concours d'Elegance.

Many of the Moungers' more seasonal collecting traditions began when their daughters were growing up. There's the Dickensian village, which started with a single miniature church. Now an entire town of shops, houses and trees, all dusted with fluffy snow, decks out a kitchen counter. Mary Lynn picked up a polar-bear plate at a garage sale years ago. Friends have brought over cookies on festive platters, and now the kitchen is awash in seasonal china.

In the dining room, the long table is laid with a mix of silver and crystal candlesticks. Silver chargers and an elegant silver reindeer shine against the burgundy table runner. A nearby glass-fronted cabinet displays the napkin rings that don't fit on the table for any single dinner party. Mary Lynn has gathered more than 60, made of sterling silver, plated silver and pewter. She enjoys picking out just the right napkin ring for each guest, and because the Moungers have been known to have 40 to dinner, the collection is put to good use. "I found them on eBay, many are gifts," says Mary Lynn, weighing choices between a gilded garden cart and a tiny car. "But I think I have enough now."

Valerie Easton is a Seattle freelance writer. Her e-mail address is valeaston@comcast.net. Benjamin Benschneider is a Pacific Northwest magazine photographer.